Here we go again: the Samsung Galaxy S26 series has satellite communication, but not for us

A handful of days have passed since the launch event for the Samsung Galaxy S26 series, and everyone — industry insiders and the curious alike — is busy nitpicking the smallest details of the phones. In the last few hours Samsung has officially stepped in, confirming the presence of satellite communication for all models.

The trio thus follows in the wake of the previous generation and does so in every possible sense: the feature has been confirmed in Europe but apparently it will not be available in Italy.

Samsung Galaxy S26, S26+ and S26 Ultra have satellite communication support: there is the confirmation but not for Italy

The Asian company has published a press release announcing the return of satellite communication on its flagship series: this applies to the small Samsung Galaxy S26 as well as the S26+ and S26 Ultra models. The feature is available thanks to ongoing partnerships with major global telecommunications operators in North America, Europe and Japan.

According to reports, satellite connectivity will be implemented gradually based on network availability and regulatory requirements. At the time of writing, support is mentioned from Virgin Media O2, MasOrange and Vodafone, for European operators.

In terms of markets, reference is made to the United Kingdom and Spain, but for now no other countries are mentioned. It’s not news that Italy is excluded: the same happened with the Galaxy S25. It remains to be seen if there will be changes, so we are awaiting updates.

What is satellite communication?

Satellite communication on smartphones enables supported devices (like the latest Samsung Galaxy) to send and receive data by connecting directly to satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), bypassing the limitations of terrestrial networks. In essence, this technology adds emergency messaging functionality and can be used in so-called dead zones (such as at sea, in the mountains or in other extreme and non-ideal conditions).

Currently the majority of compatible smartphones are able to send emergency messages (SOS) with brief texts containing the GPS location. Some services allow sending standard SMS even without signal but forget about heavy data – video or smooth web navigation.

Apple has been among the first brands to implement satellite emergency SOS and now Samsung has joined (starting with the S25 series).